by The Ranger
Her steps faltered as she stopped to look at him before nodding slightly.
"I did," she said. "I… I do… thanks to Honorable Jira, I know how I can begin to find my way, but… I'm not sure what would await me there should I go."
"What does that mean?" Edmund poked, tip-toeing to stand in front of her.
"Well, I… I would have my mother, of course, but… the rest… the longer we toiled through this journey, the more it became apparent to me that my time in the Norva happened so long ago. What once was my homeland is now… foreign to even me."
"So… if you choose not to go back?" he inquired. "What would you do?"
"Continue my life," Khora smiled, a soft, warm tone enveloping her words. "Remain here with my friends, and do what I could in service of this place. Maybe even… travel the coast; see what else this corner of the realm has to offer me."
"I've always wanted to visit Syvon," he added. "And… Bondar?"
"Bundar," she corrected. "Though, I believe Bundar is closed to humans. Syvon, though… Syvon is a place we could visit."
"But that's until after we take care of whatever this is, isn't it?" he sighed, tapping his foot against the massive temple doors.
"Yes, so let us not delay," she answered, gripping the silvered handle with both hands.
The Temple of Azra was filled with people, just as Jonathan had described. They sat, knelt, and stood around within the gigantic chamber Khora and Edmund had strode into, but all were quiet and still as the seconds passed. It felt strange to trudge into such a scene, one that seemed almost undisturbed by the chaos that plagued the rest of the city. However, while such a sight might have regularly garnered her attention— this was not the case. She was, instead, completely absorbed by the brilliance that radiated off of every surface in Azra's grandiose temple. It was all, in a single word, bright.
From the polished floor to the sturdy pillars and lofty ceiling— it all gleamed vividly. She assumed that the material she tread upon was marble, although she had never seen so much of it in one place before. Even the white birch pews, which without doubt had seen years of public use, still retained an illustrious visage that had to have been challenging to preserve. It was an elegance and exquisiteness that mirrored that of Castle Azra's; however, where before Khora had been astonished and almost intimidated by the grand palace, that sentiment was quickly diminishing as it gave way to another. Any feeling she may have felt otherwise was overshadowed by the sheer discomfort that soon began to pulse through her. She had not expected the overwhelming heat that lingered in the temple.
Edmund glanced at her curiously as she swiped at her now-gleaming forehead before understanding crossed his eyes.
"Oh, that's right, you've never been in here," he commented. "It always feels like that, no matter how cold it is outside. It's the dragonfire. You'll stop thinking about it soon enough, though."
"Dragonfire?" she repeated, to which he pointed ahead.
In front of them, beyond the pews filled with the faithful and surpassing the platform for the shrines, there were a pair of curved stairs on opposite sides of the large open chamber. They led upwards, onto an overlook where there was a rumbling and roaring mass of fire. The blue tendrils licked and clawed at the metal and stone that surrounded it, and Khora wondered how such a force could possibly be contained there.
"Little bit of history," Edmund continued. "This is the third temple Azra's built here— the first burned down less than a month after it was finished, and the second a little under a year after."
"I'm not surprised," she chuckled. "Anyone foolish enough to attempt the preservation of dragonfire will always-"
She stopped speaking as she turned to look at Edmund, who had been watching her while she talked. Khora stared at him silently, and, when he failed to mention it, she realized he had not noticed the light emanating from his pocket. It was gold in its hue and more captivating than any brilliant sheen that could be found within the Temple of Azra; it took her less than a moment to realize the source of this arcane light.
"Your pocket, Ed," she murmured, pointing her finger forward. "It's glowing."
The young boy looked towards it and seemed confused for a moment before realization struck him, and his hand darted towards his pocket. His fingers fumbled around within it for a second, and he pulled a small flower into the open air. It was the same one he had shown them before, Khora knew, except it looked different now. Its petals had discarded their previous appearance and now seemed to be formed purely of solid light. It glittered intermittently as Edmund twisted it in the air in front of him.
"It didn't look like this before," he murmured, still scanning the magnificence he held. "It didn't even… it didn't even do this outside. I— we would've noticed."
"You're right," she said, attempting to recall the moment just before they entered Azra's temple. "But… what here could have provoked such a change?"
Before either of them could pursue the thought, a fervent and loud series of steps sounded out within the throng of people ahead of them. From between the devout and the pious emerged a short and plump woman with a tangle of grayed red hair. She wore a simple crimson-and-white embroidered dress, with a few stains decorating its hem as it dragged across the floor. Her skin was pale and creased, and her hazel eyes shone brightly as she approached them.
Edmund shoved the flower into his bag, hiding its light and pulling it from sight as the woman reached for Khora's hand with both of her own.
"What are you doing here?" she squeaked sweetly. "I never thought I'd see you come near this place!"
"Alva!" Khora exclaimed. "I-I'm here… here for the safety of the kingdom. I had to see what all of you were doing in the temple."
"Oh, yes, that's right! I remember you went off to help the Prince with some matter or another. Well, as far as what we're doing here," she returned, pivoting her head behind her as Siggfer trudged towards them. "Siggie and I weren't sure the danger was as great as that Brandon fellow made it out to be, so we stayed behind…"
"And when those black-boned monsters appeared," her husband continued. "We were left with no choice but to come to the temple."
"But Captain Finnegan assembled his forces," Edmund countered. "He would have made sure you left the city safely."
"Yes, we heard of Finn and his little men, but that was after we'd arrived here," the older woman explained. "By then, we were already safe in the hands of the temple guard, so we saw no need to leave."
"The temple guard…" Khora repeated.
It was not until she turned to scan their surroundings that she saw them scattered within the crowd and lining the walls quietly. The guards, donned in silver and white robes with slight red accents, had melted into the chaos of the gathered people and fallen out of sight. It was only when she focused that Khora had noticed them and saw that their attention had slowly drifted to the foreigner among them. They were all observing her carefully.
Silently, one of them broke off from the rest and sauntered towards the— he took long, purposeful steps as he made his way forward and was the only one among the temple's forces to wear a helm; it was open-faced, not unlike the one Richard had worn before. Beneath the robes donned by all the other guards, she managed to spot the glimmer of steel plate as well as a longsword hanging on his hip discreetly. The closer the man drew, the more the light danced in his eyes, giving their brown appearance a more amber-like impression. They looked into Khora with an odd mixture of both caution and indifference.
"You two," he started as he came to a stop in front of them. "I am Charles, Palantine to this great temple. If I am not mistaken… you two were among those who journeyed east alongside Prince Lucian?"
Khora managed to steal a glance towards Edmund, who did nothing other than stare at the man.
"How did you know that?" he asked him. "I've… I don't think I've ever met you before now."
He smiled insincerely and allowed a slight tilt of his head as he focused on the young boy.
"It is not too often that I am drawn outside of this temple and into the kingdom," he began. "Most of what I oversee is completed dutifully by my steadfast paladins, and, of them, I am sure you are, at least by now, familiar."
As if signaled by some unseen gesture, Charles' paladins began to remove themselves from the peasant crowd and assembled along the walls with the rest of their brothers-in-arms.
"Uh, yes, good sir," Siggfer murmured, cutting between the Palantine and Khora. "We are quite grateful for the protection you've offered us all. And you are right— they did accompany His Highness."
Charles nodded curtly towards Siggfer, breaking his chilled demeanor for a moment to show, what seemed like, genuine regard.
"Now then, what is it that the good Prince has sent you here for?" he questioned, scanning both Edmund and Khora intently.
"Oh, no, Lucian-" Edmund tried.
"We've actually come from Captain Finnegan's encampment," Khora interrupted, bumping her friend slightly as she did so. "We came to see about moving these people out of the city. Perhaps you and your paladins could help us?"
Edmund turned to glance at her, but she made no effort to return his gaze as she locked eyes with the man standing in front of her.
"Well then," Charles murmured, sourness grazing his tongue. "You will have to speak to High Priest Kota. Only he and King Lacerne have authority over my men's movements. Other than myself, of course."
"And where will we find… Kota?"
The Palantine turned to point ahead, towards the curved stairs and the roaring dragonfire.
"The archives," he revealed. "Its entrance is quite… unmistakable. However, I feel obliged to warn you, the High Priest has developed a keen fascination with the monstrosities that linger within the kingdom. He has become… obsessed. He may seem a tad distracted, but I've no doubt he will be eager to speak with you."
"Thank you," Khora forcefully smiled, lowering her head for less than a second.
"Of course," the Palantine answered, bowing stiffly.
He quickly turned to leave, striding back to his former post among his followers. She watched them closely as their focus faded away from her and moved back towards those under their protection. While she scanned them, she began to see Edmund fidgeting at her side.
"Why didn't you tell him that Lucian-" he, again, tried to say.
"We'll return in a moment," Khora told a confused Alva and Siggfer, pulling her friend along with her. "Please, excuse us."
Once she had crossed the chamber, dragging Edmund along with her and earning more than their fair share of disapproving stares from the crowd, she stopped and twisted around to face her young companion.
"Why didn't you tell him what happened to Lucian?" he spurted, albeit as quietly as he could manage.
"There will be a time for that, but it is not now. It is best we avoid the topic with Kota as best we can, too. We don't want to panic anyone."
"Well, Richard told Finn about it, and some of the guards," he started. "And… they didn't panic."
"Yes, but there's something about this High Priest that concerns me…" she whispered. "After what we learned from Lucian, and then Finnegan… I do not trust him."
"That sounds reasonable, I suppose," the young boy sighed, slowly nodding in agreement. "Well then, what are we going to say?"
"I don't know… all I do know is that it is not safe for these people to stay here. But with the help of the guardsmen… we should be able to move them without much risk," she explained. "So, then I suppose, we will say exactly as we must so that the priest gives that order."
"I understand," Edmund smiled, taking another step forward. "Let's go lie to an old man!"
He skipped towards the steps and clambered up to the overlook and its dragonfire.
"Well, I'd rather not lie, but… if we must…"
Her eyes followed him as she, too, walked up the steps, but her attention was quickly drawn to the flames, which seemed to grow larger and more menacing in every passing second. Khora's eyes instinctively narrowed as the light grew brighter, but she forced herself to look upon the gathered dragonfire. Now that she had come closer to it, she fully took note of its surroundings.
The roaring flames sat in a shallow brazier seemingly formed of gold, yet its insides were plated with a silver-like metal that Khora was certain was neither silver nor steel nor iron— all she knew for sure was that it held steadfast against the vicious fire.
There stood marble pillars at either side of the brazier, and the base of each was coated with the same foreign metal that lingered beneath the flames. Both of them served as a tethering-point, on which the brazier was chained, allowing it to remain suspended off the ground.
While the beautifully crafted material surrounding the dragonfire was pleasant to look upon, it was the flames that continued to steal her focus. It was an odd sensation that she felt in her chest as she observed the roiling flames. While the heat made her proximity to it almost unbearable, she noticed that the fire seemed less frightful the closer she came to it— almost as if it possessed a gentle, ethereal quality within itself, one masked by the ferocity of its appearance.
"Khora?"
Her eyes broke away from the dragonfire and moved towards Edmund, who had already walked ahead of her. He was standing in front of an incredibly ornate door— at least in comparison to the others that were nestled nearby it. It was a dark-colored wood, with difficult-to-discern carvings etched into it. Had Khora known nothing about Azra, she may have assumed the etchings were arcana or some wayward rune-lettering. However, knowing what she did about the kingdom's abhorrence of magic, she had little doubt it was nothing other than a decorative choice.
"What are we waiting for?" he prodded, gesturing ahead. "We need to get moving if we want to hurry and meet Richard."
"Of course," she agreed, moving forward as he opened the door for her— neither sure of what they would find within.
Surprise was not the exact word that had come to Khora as she entered the archives. Shock was perhaps better suited to her circumstance, or maybe even bewilderment. Astonishment definitely fit the feeling that ran through her mind as she looked over the dozens upon dozens of densely packed shelves that littered the place. Each was filled with massive tomes, dusty scrolls, and illustrations of a kind she had never expected to see within this kingdom.
She had been anticipating, perhaps, various paintings of Azrian kings or illustrations depicting the country's rise and, of course, a few bookcases filled with the histories that led them to this day. She did not, however, expect the densely packed library that she found here, nor the fact that it indulged in wisdom that she had never even heard of throughout her Norvan education.
"'The Slaying of Morvir;' 'Ashara the Second, Osgoroth the First;' 'The Death of Raynus,'" Khora read aloud as her eyes skimmed each title. "I recognize some of the tales gathered here, but there are some… some that I have no knowledge of."
Edmund nodded along as she spoke, scanning the books that surrounded them with as much curiosity as she did while they walked the quiet aisles. They wandered aimlessly, too timid to call out amidst the collective histories that enveloped them, and instead looked over the various volumes that were stacked on all sides.
While usually Khora may have been absorbed with the abundant and interesting texts available here, she looked them over with only a partial interest. However, one article among the thousands called to her more than any of the rest. She approached it and scanned the thin and brightly colored book. Its lettering was faded, so she pulled it from the shelf to assure herself of the words that graced its surface.
"Shamans of Vainihris… shamans… this must be regarding the master healers of the elf tribes," she murmured. "I read once that their healing skills are unrivaled throughout all the realm-"
"Is someone there?" a voice questioned.
She turned towards the direction the call had come from and took a few steps forward before handing 'Shamans of Vainihr
is' to Edmund. She had hoped he would slip it back onto the shelf, but instead, he silently stashed it in his bag. The opportunity to quickly and quietly return the book vanished when they turned the corner and saw three priests gathered there.
Two of them were old and weathered, but the other looked relatively young. Khora assumed he was an initiate, as he wore a plain white shirt, with two bands of red fabric adorning either forearm, and had a shy look in his blue eyes. The second priest wore the typical red-and-black-accented robe she had occasionally seen around the city. The last priest was clad in the same garments, yet he wore a distinct headdress, unlike the other clerics she had encountered. It was the color of blood, and it flaunted nine curved points, each of which circled his head and possessed a gold peak. She reasonably assumed he was the High Priest they had come to seek.
The three of them were gathered around an elegant desk, and scattered atop it, as well as all around them, were piles of unrolled scrolls, dusty parchments, and small, wooden chests that seemed more aged than anything else there. Khora edged closer, but the priest standing at his superior's side lifted his hand forward as if to prevent her from coming closer.
"What is your business here? The High Priest is very busy."
"Wait," Kota murmured. "I recognize the little one."
He inched forward and squinted as he looked at Edmund.
"You… you are the Prince's friend, are you not?" the old man recalled. "Edmund, yes?"
The young boy shuffled forward slightly and nodded, much to the High Priest's delight.
"Then… then that would mean… Lucian's mission has concluded," he realized. "Tell me, then, what… what has happened? W-what are you doing here?"
His question hung in the air as Edmund remained silent, instead turning to look shyly at Khora, who took the opportunity to step forward.
"We've come because of the people gathered here," she replied, gently tapping her spear on the rug that adorned the floor. "We've come to ask for your help in moving them— for their safety."